Friday, November 15, 2013

Today is America
Recycles Day, and on this special day we encourage citizens to take the pledge to recycle more products, including empty aerosol containers. The number of municipalities accepting
empty aerosol containers in the U.S. is increasing – making recycling aerosols easier
for consumers.

You can pledge to recycle more by visiting the America Recycles Day site administered by Keep America Beautiful, one of the Consumer Aerosol
Product Council’s (CAPCO) partners.
CAPCO is also a sponsor of Recycle-Bowl, a classroom recycling challenge that
culminates on America Recycles Day.

Nearly four billion aerosol cans are
produced in the U.S. annually for products ranging from shaving cream to
bicycle lubricant. More than 5,300
municipalities now include aerosol cans in their recycling programs. Most steel
aerosol cans feature the “Please Recycle When Empty” logo to indicate they can
be safely recycled. Here’s how:

Empty the aerosol of its contents through normal
use.

Check instructions from the local collector to determine if empty aerosols are accepted.

Place empty aerosol container in bin along with other recyclables.

Large
cities such as New York City and San Francisco have included empty aerosol cans
in their curbside programs for years. CAPCO and the CSPA Aerosol Products
Division have been working for 20 years to increase awareness among consumers and
to get more municipalities to include aerosol cans in their recycling programs.
“Now more than 65 percent of Americans have access to aerosol recycling through
curbside pickup, drop off and waste-to-energy recovery programs,” said Doug
Fratz, Aerosol Products Division Staff Executive at the Consumer Specialty
Products Association, which represents the consumer aerosol industry. “We
continue to work toward a day when everyone can easily recycle their aerosol
containers.”